Bikes get priority in traffic flow plan

Bikes get priority in traffic flow plan - The West Australian

Giving motorcyclists priority access to bus and emergency lanes is among ideas being canvassed by a government group charged with developing WA's first motorcycling policy.

The working group was established by Transport Minister Troy Buswell this year after discussions with the Motorcycle Riders Association. It will hold its second meeting next month.

Association vice-president Dave Wright said he hoped the group would develop a strategy to encourage people to leave their cars at home and use motorcycles, reducing traffic congestion because motorcycles took up less space than cars.

A recent Belgian study found that traffic flow would improve 60 per cent if just one in 10 cars was replaced by a motorcycle.

Other initiatives being investigated by the working group include allowing motorcyclists to move between lanes of stationary or slow-moving vehicles - as is allowed in parts of Europe, Japan and the US - and providing priority parking for motorcycles at train stations.

"We know that there are about 150,000 registered motorcycles in WA," Mr Wright said. "But we also know that they mostly sit in people's garages while they take their cars to work."

Mr Buswell said the working group would consider a wide range of views and proposals and it was too early to comment on individual ideas.

The West Australian has joined the RAC and Channel 7 in the biggest survey of traffic congestion in WA.